The Catacombs The Production Guide
Script To Screen: Matter of Life and Death
by Martin Willey

Script To Screen


Wednesday 30th January 1974 was the 13th and last day of filming for Matter of Life and Death, and it needed an extended day, running into the evening, to complete the shots.

Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes

The day starts on Stage L, alongside Main Mission, in Bergman's quarters, They started filming these scenes on Tuesday (after the scenes in Helena's quarters), and would use the set in the next day's episode, Black Sun. Kano is seen on the communications post in scene 39 ("Essential we have flight coordinates for Phase Two probe."); Clifton Jones was filmed against a "flat" wall panel, being filmed live by a television camera to the side of the set.

The set of Bergman's quarters being prepared. Two stand-ins look at the Russell thermographic plates on the whiteboard, along with lighting cameraman Frank Watts

Matter Of Life And Death

They then move to the North Tunnel stage for the Travel Tube scenes. These had been originally scheduled for the first day of shooting (Monday 14th January), but Eagle scenes had taken up all day. In scenes 9, 12 and 14, Helena, Koenig and the others set off to the Eagle that has just returned from the planet. In scene 52, the landing party led by Koenig travel to their Eagle to land on the planet. This later scene was cut; we just see them enter the Eagle. The travel tube scenes in scene 52 would have shown the "Operation Exodus"/"Maximum Alert" messages and the countdown clock, also seen on the Main Mission screens. There was no dialogue in any of these scenes.

Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes

These shots in the travel tube must come from Wednesday 30th January. This is probably the landing party entering the travel tube to go to the planet, with the binoculars and case. Cameraman Neil Binney is behind Landau. The mannequin is a stand-in dummy, used to fix the lighting before the actors take their places (more commonly the major stars had real people as stand-ins). The hood of Koenig's commlock is the right way round (as it was in the Bergman's lab set); on the planet (filmed earlier, on Wednesday 23rd) the hood is reversed.

Matter Of Life And Death

Next are more transit scenes, this time in the Alpha corridors. Scene 8 showed Helena, the orderlies and the stretcher walk to the travel tube, but was cut (immediately before scene 9, above, when they walk into the travel tube). We do see scene 34, with the communications post flashing "Security Alert Care Unit 3" as the guards run past, with Koenig and Bergman walk briskly after them.

Matter Of Life And Death

This static shot is all we see in the episode of corridor scene 38A.

Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes

The scene was filmed but apart from the sign nothing of it remains in the episode. Publicity photos show it following the stage directions, except there are 2 orderlies, Chris Williams and Saad Ghazi, the same orderlies we saw at the start of the episode (filmed immediately before this shot). "Dead Lee Russell" is played by Mike Stevens, who can be seen in one of the shots. The Autopsy scene is continued immediately after this. Note that the Autopsy door in the corridor set is where the travel tube normally lives, and we can see the corridor set through the open doors, so we are probably on stage H for these corridor scenes as well as the autopsy set.

Camera tracks a sheet-covered body stretched out on a trolley.

ANGLE WIDENS.

We see an Orderly pushing the trolley along the corridor.

Trolley comes to a pair of sliding doors and pauses. The doors open and Camera holds as the trolley is pushed through.

The doors slide back and we see the legend AUTOPSY ROOM.

Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes

The final corridor scene is 47A, between Koenig and Helena discussing the pilots Parks and Bannion waking up (see script pages here). At the end, Bergman appears on the communications post and calls Helena to his lab. Sadly no photos exist of this scene.

Matter Of Life And Death

Finally we have the scenes in the Autopsy Room. As Mathias touches the dead body of Lee Russell, he and the nurse and thrown across the room, and the body disappears.

Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes

An earlier scene, 38B, shows the two orderlies delivering the body to the Autopsy Room. This follows on directly from the corridor scene 38A shown above; both scenes were filmed and photographed, but cut from the final episode.

Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes Matter Of Life And Death Behind The Scenes

In scene 55A, Mathias and the nurse (Anton Phillips and Dorothy Ford) prepare to perform the autopsy on the body (still Mike Stevens). Publicity photos show stunt arranger Alf Joint (Steiner in Breakaway). Doubling for Anton Phillips is Paul Weston (a security guard in several episodes, he had just doubled for Koenig in the rockfall). The nurse is played by stuntwoman Dorothy Ford (who doubled for Helena when she is thrown back in the Care Unit, earlier in the episode).

Publicity shots show Alf Joint talking to director Charles Crichton with the trampoline that Paul Weston will bounce off; Weston and Ford also wear jerk vests, with hidden cables that pull them back,

GROUP THREE PRODUCTION LIMITED "SPACE 1999" T.V. SERIES
EPISODE 2: "MATTER OF LIFE & DEATH"
CALL SHEET NO. 13.
DIRECTOR: CHARLES CRICHTON STAGE: L. NORTH TUNNEL & H.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, 30th January, 1974 UNIT CALL: 8.30a.m.
EXTENDED DAY.

ARTISTE CHARACTER D/ROOM MAKE UP CALL SET CALL

1).INT. BERGMAN'S LAB. Sc.Nos. 23 to complete. 28.32.39.
MARTIN LANDAU KOENIG 321 7.30a.m. 8.30a.m.
BARRY MORSE BERGMAN 324 8.00a.m. 8.30a.m.
CLIFTON JONES KANO 327 8.00a.m. 8.30a.m.
Stand Ins:
John Clifford for Mr. Landau 8.00a.m. 8.30a.m.
Tony Allen for Mr. Johnson ' ' ' 10.30a.m.
Props: Leather books, blackboard, chalk, equations, scientific dressing, Nobel prize,
Thermographic plates, perspex projection board.
Electrical: 1). Projection board to be illuminated.
2.) Alert boards to be practical.
Art Dept: 1). Exodus sign, Sc.39. 2). Security Alert Care Unit Sc.32.
3). Flat for Koenig/Kano Unit Sc.39.
Electronics: 1). Compost: Technical Roller-live.Sc.28. 2). Compost: Security Care Alert-
live. Sc.32. 3). Compost: Russell's vital life signs - live Sc.23.
4). Compost: Technical roller to Kano love link. Sc.39.

2).INT. TRAVEL TUBE. Sc.Nos. 9.12.14.52.
MARTIN LANDAU KOENIG 321 from above
BARBARA BAIN HELENA 322 10.00a.m. 12.00noon
BARRY MORSE BERGMAN 324 from above
PRENTIS HANCOCK MORROW 335 11.00a.m. 12.00noon
ZIENIA MERTON SANDRA 328 11.00a.m. 12.00noon
NICK TATE CARTER 326 11.00a.m. 12.00noon
CHRIS WILLIAMS ORDERLY A - 11.00a.m. 12.00noon
SAAD GHAZI ORDERLY B - 11.00a.m. 12.00noon
Stand Ins: from above
Suzanne Heimer for Miss Bain 10.00a.m. 10.30a.m.
Props: Space suits as dressing, stunguns, first aid kits, survival packs, stretcher,
commlocks, oxygen cylinders, masks, Helena's sample case.
Art Dept: Red Alert panel. Maximum Alert panel.
Electronics: Red Alert Monitors A.B. Sc.9.12.14, Countdown clock - Minus 8. Sc.52.
Operation Exodus - Maximum Alert. Sc.52.
Electrical: "Alert panel" box to be made practical.

3).INT. CORRIDOR. Sc.Nos. 8.34.38A.47A.
MARTIN LANDAU KOENIG 321 from above
BARBARA BAIN HELENA 322 from above
BARRY MORSE BERGMAN 324 from above
CHRIS WILLIAMS ORDERLY A - from above
SAAD GHAZI ORDERLY B - from above
TONY ALYN SECURITY GUARD 336 12.30p.m. for lunch 12.00noon
Extra Artistes:
Quentin Pierre Security Guard 10.00a.m. 10.30a.m.
2 Men ) Crowd 10.30a.m.
2 Women ) 10.30a.m.
Mike Stevens Double: Richard Johnson 10.30a.m.
Props: Continuity props from Sc.9. Commlocks, stunguns, trolley, sheet, dummy to s/by.
Art Dept: Flat for Bergman Sc.47A. Red Alert Board: Security Alert. Care Unit 3.
"Autopsy Room" sign.
Camera Dept: 9.8mm lens required.
Electronics: Composts: Sc.8. Red Alert-live. Sc.34. Security Alert-live.
Sc.38. Roller domestic captions- live. Sc.47A. Roller domestic
caption-live. Bergman/Link

4).INT. AUTOPSY ROOM. Sc.Nos. 38B.55A.
ANTON PHILLIPS DR. MATHIAS - S/By til 1.00p.m.
DOROTHY FORD MEDICAL ASSISTANT - S/By til 1.00p.m.
CHRIS WILLIAMS ORDERLY A - from above
SAAD GHAZI ORDERLY B - from above

/Continued.....

"MATTER OF LIFE & DEATH"
CALL SHEET NO.13.
for 30.1.74. CONT'D.

Stunt Arrangements:
Alf Joint Arranger to stand by till 1.00p.m.
Paul Weston Double for Mathias to stand by till 1.00p.m.
Extra Artistes:
Double for Russell from above
Props: Tray of instruments, sheets, mattresses, breakaway dressing.
Electrical: Light fx. for Sc.36B. 55A.
Special arcs for Sc.55A.
Wardrobe: Autopsy out for double of Mathias.
Jerk jackets in use for Stunt Doubles.
Make Up: Body make up for double of Russell.
Camera Dept: 9.8mm lens from above.

RUSHES: 1.00p.m. Theatre to be advised
CATERING: a.m. break for 70 people on L Stage.
p.m. break for 70 people on Stage to be notified.
Running buffet on H Stage from 6.00p.m.
TRANSPORT: Joe Himpfen to collect Mr.Landau at 6.45a.m. and Miss Bain at 9.00a.m.
Unit Car (Mac) to collect Mr.Morse at 7.15a.m.

KEN BAKER
Assistant Director.